Lifting jack



F@L.GORMLEY LIFTING JACK I March 15, 1932.

Filed Aug 11. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet liwentor: Ii'anJaL Germ]:

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mar'lh 1932- F. GORMLEY LIFTING JACK Filed Aug. 11, 1928 Patented Mar. 15, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANK L. GORMLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE BUDA COMPANY, 01 HARVEY, ILLINOIS, .A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS LIFTING JACK Application filed. August 11, 1928. Serial No. 298,916.

This invention relates to lifting jacks and has for its object the production of a screw jack which may be actuated either by a motor or manually, as desired.

This object is attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, one preferred form thereof is illustrated in the drawings, this form having been found to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized, and the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described except as required by the scope of the appended claims.

Of the drawings:

Figure 1 represents a vertical section of a screw jack embodying the principles of the invention.

Figure 2 represents a partial section of same on line 2, 2, on Fig. 3, and

Figure 3 represents a vertical section of same on line 3, 3, on Fig. 2, showing in dotted lines a motor by which the jack may be actuated.

Similar characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures of the drawm s.

Tn the drawings, is a casing having threaded to the bottom thereof a base 11.

The upper end of the casing 10 has a bearing 12 for a ram 13, this ram having secured to its upper end a supporting plate 14 and being provided at the bottom thereof with a nut 15.

The ram 13 has a vertical slot 16 therein into which extends a member 17 to prevent the rotation of said ram within the bearing 12.

Threaded to the nut is a screw 18 the lower end of which has secured thereto a bevel gear 19 meshing with a bevel pinion 20 formed upon or secured to a rotatable shaft 21 extending through a bearing 22 formed in a sleeve 23 disposed within a cylindrical hub 24 extending laterally from the casing 10.

Between the bevel gear 19 and the upper ace of the base 11 are two separated plates 25 and 26 each having annular tracks formed therein in which several balls 27 are disposed so that the gear 19 and screw 18 may revolve freely about their axes.

As the ram 13 is prevented from turning by the member 17 it is obvious that when the screw 18 is rotated about its axis the ram will be raised or lowered according to the direction of rotation of said screw.

The pitch of the threads of the screw 18 is such that the ram will not lower. under the weight of a load.

The rota-table shaft 21 has a reduced extension 28 on which is adapted to be disposed a lever socket or ratchet mechanism 29 similar to that shown and described in another application of mine filed Dec. 21, 1926, and numbered 156,109.

As this ratchet mechanism forms no part of the present invention it is deemed unnecessary to show it in detail as its construction and operation is fully shown and described in said application.

By means of this lever socket or ratchet mechanism 29 the shaft 21 may be rotated in either direction and manually raise or lower the ram 13.

Formed integral with the shaft 21 is a fiat sided portion 30 to which is fitted a worm gear 31.

The teeth of this gear 31 mesh with the threads of a worm 32 formed upon a shaft 33 mounted in thrust bearings 34 supported on the walls of the lateral extension 35 from the casing 10.

Mounted on the shaft 33 and rotatable therewith is a second worm gear 36 the teeth of which mesh with a second worm 37 formed upon a shaft 38 rotatable in thrust bearings 39, 40.

The thrust bearing 39 is supported on the under wall of the extension 35 while the bearing 40 is positioned in a removable cap 41 threaded to the upper wall of said extension 35. r

The upper end 42 of the shaft 38 extends through the cap 41 and is tapered, its extremity 43 being flat sided as shown inFig. 2.

This tapered portion 42 and flat sided por tion 43 is adapted to have positioned thereon a socket 14 of a rotatable element 15 forn ing part of an electric motor 4:6 to which current is conducted from a suitable source of supply through a cable 47.

The motor a6 is provided with a handle 48 by which said motor may be positioned on the spindle 42 or removed therefrom.

Some other form of motor other than an electric motor may be coupled with the shaft. 38 to rotate the same without affecting the invention.

The pitch of the threads of the worms 32, 37 and the pitch of the teeth of the worm gears 31, 36 is such that these elements may be rotated freely in either direction.

The motor 46 to be used in rotating shaft 38 is designed to rotate said shaft 3 in either direction.

By means of these worms 32 and 3'? :1 rl worm gears 31 and 36 there is a great speed reduction so that when the motor 46 is rotating the shaft 38 the ram 13 will be slowly raised or lowered with power sufficient to raise very heavy loads.

hen there is no motor 46 available to be used in raising and lowering the load, the jack may be manually operated by means of the lever socket 29.

When this lever socket 29 is used there is no motor coupled to the upwardly eaten ding spindle or coupling member 12, and the worm gears 31, 36, and worms 32, 37 will rotate. freely without performing any duty.

hen the motor a6 is coupled to the spindle 42 to raise and lower the ram the lever socket 29 is placed out of commission so that the shaft 21 may freely rotate in either oirection in its bearing 32.

It is believed that a lifting jack thus constructed in which the ram may be raised and lowered either by a manually actuated device or by means of a motor is new in the art.

Such lifting jack obviously has many at.- vantages over lifting jacks which may be operated only by manually actuated devices.

It is believed that the operation and many advantages of the invention will be uuderstood without further description.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1.. A lifting jack consisting of a unitary casing, a non-rotatable ram movable vertically therein, a nut secured to said ram, a rotatable screw in said nut immovable endwise, a bevel gear secured to said screw, a bevel pinion meshing with said gear, a rotatable shaft to which said pinion is secured having a projecting end adapted to receive a manually actuated operating device, and speed reduction gearing always in mesh for rotating said shaft or be rotated thereby in either direction and including a second vertical shaft provided with means for coupling it to amotor.

2. A lifting jack consisting of a unitary casing, a non-rotatable ram movable vertically therein, a nut secured to said ram, 1 rotatable screw in said nut immovable endwise, a bevel gear secured to the lower end of said screw, a bevel pinion meshing with said gear, a rotatable shaft to which said pinion is cured and provided with a projecting end to receive a manually operated device for rotating said shaft, a worm gear mounted on and rotatable with said shaft, a worm meshing therewith, a second worm gear on the end of said worm, a second worm meshing with said second worm gear, said worms and worm gears being always in mesh, and a. vertical spindle extending from said second worm through the casing and provided at its upper end with means whereby it may be coupled to a removable motor.

A lifting jack consisting of a unitary casing, 21 non-rotatable ram movable vertically therein, a nut secured to said ram, a rotatable screw in said nut immovable endwise, a bevel gear secured to the lower end of said screw, a bevel pinion meshing with said gear, a rotatable shaft to which said pinion is cured and provided with a projecting end to receive a manually operated device for rotating said shaft, a worm gear mounted on and rotatable ith said shaft, a worm continuously in mesh therewith, a second worm gear on the end of said worm, a second worm continuously in mesh with said second worm gear, and a vertical spindle extending from said second worm through the casing and provided at its upper end with means whereby it may be coupled to a removable motor, said worms and worm gears being rotatable in either direction.

i. A lifting jack consisting of a unitary casing, a non-rotatable ram movable vertically therein, a nut secured to said ram, a rotatable screw in said nut immovable endwise, a bevel gear secured to the lower end of said screw, a bevel pinion meshing with said gear, a rotatable shaft to which said. pinion is secured and provided with a projecting end to receive a manually operated device for rotating said shaft, a worm gear mounted on and. rotatable with said shaft, :1 horizontally disposed worm meshing continuously therewith, a second worm gear on the end of said worm, a second worm vertically disposed and meshing continuously with said second worm gear, and a spindle extending upwardly from said second worm through the casing and provided at its upper end with means whereby it may be coupled to a removable motor.

5. A lifting jack consisting of a unitary casing, a non-rotatable ram movable vertical- 1y therein, a nut secured to said ram, a rotatable screw in said nut immovable endwise,

a bevel gear secured to the lower end of said screw, a bevel pinion meshing with said gear, a rotatable shaft to which said pinion is secured provided with a projecting end to receive a manually actuated operating device adapted to be manually actuated, and speed reduction gearing connected continuously to said shaft including a worm provided with a projecting end for attachment to a removable motor, said projecting end extenlding upwardly through the casing of said ac 6. A lifting jack consisting of a unitary casing having a base threaded to an opening in the bottom thereof, a non-rotatable ram movable vertically therein, a nut secured to said ram, a rotatable screw in said nut immovable endwise, a bevel gear secured to the lower end of said screw, a bevel pinion meshing with said gear, a rotatable shaft to which said pinion is secured provided with a projecting end adapted to receive a manually actu-, ated operating device, and speed reduction gearing for rotating said shaft continuously in mesh and including a worm having a projecting end for attachment to a removable motor whereby said shaft may be rotated by power through said speed reduction gearing, said projecting end extending upwardly through said casing.

7. A lifting jack consisting of a unitary casing, a non-rotatable ram movable vertically therein, a nut secured to said ram, a rotatable screw in said nut immovable endwise, a bevel gear secured to the lower end of said screw, a bevel pinion meshing with said gear, a rotatable shaft to which said pinion is secured provided with a projecting end adapted to receive a manually actuated operating device, and separate means coacting with said rotatable shaft including a vertical rotatable shaft provided with a worm thread and having its upper end projecting through said casing and provided with means for at tachment to a removable motor.

8. A lifting jack provided with a unitary casing, a non-rotatable ram within said casing, a nut in said ram, a rotatable screw in said nut immovable endwise, and means within said casing for rotating said screw including a horizontal shaft and a vertical shaft, said shafts being connected together continuously by inter-meshing gearing and each shaft having an end projecting from the jack casing to which mechanism may be applied to simultaneously rotate both shafts in either direction.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 3rd day of August, 1928.

FRANK L. GORMLEY. 

